Keraia
Judges 19

Judges 19:16

The Crime of the Benjamites · Judges 19:1–30
Read Judges 19

Translations

Modern
That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was residing in Gibeah (the men of that place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the field.
Traditional
And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.
Literal
And behold, an old man came in from his work in the field at the evening. And the man was from the mountains of Ephraim, and he was staying in Gibeah, and the men of the place were Benjamites.
Latin
Et ecce, apparuit homo senex, revertens de agro et de opere suo vesperi, qui et ipse de monte erat Ephraim, et peregrinus habitabat in Gabaa: homines autem regionis illius erant filii Jemini.

Original

Hebrew
English
That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was residing in Gibeah (the men of that place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the field.

Notes

Judges 19:16

The old man came from the hill country of Ephraim, not from the territory of Benjamin. The people of Gibeah did not want to help.

Judges 19:1–21:25

  • This second epilogue (see study note on Judges 17:1–21:25) shifts the focus from individuals to entire tribes. It begins with the outrage in the Benjamite town of Gibeah (Judges 19), which led to a civil war (Judges 20) and the near destruction of Benjamin. It then moves to the attempt to save the tribe from disappearing (Judges 21). The book ends with the familiar refrain: In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. This was what they did in the days of Gibea, perhaps the lowest point in Israel's history that Hosea, 400 years later, would compare to the depths Ephraim had reached (Hosea 9:9; 10:9).

  • The path was cleared for a shift from charismatic leadership to "covenant-charismatic kingship." This kingship combined living under the Lord’s covenant with the anointing of the spirit for ruling, as seen with Saul and David.

Judges 17:1–21:25

These two epilogues (Judges 17–18 and 19–21) show that inspired but unstructured leadership cannot last. As society moved toward chaos and civil war, the phrase, In those days there was no king in Israel appears four times. The phrase, everyone did what was right in his own eyes is added twice (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). The era of inspired leadership declined and ended in disorder. Something important was missing.

Theme notes and profiles

Human Sexuality Social Chaos in Judges

Parallels

Genesis 19:1–11

People

Benjamin: Youngest son of Jacob and Rachel Ephraim: Second son of Joseph, and a tribe of Israel

Places

Gibeah: A city of Benjamin, associated with Saul and atrocities

Glossary

Benjamin, Tribe of Concubinage, Concubines Ephraim, Mount Gibeah Hospitality Inn Jabesh, Jabesh-Gilead (Place) Judges, Book of Priests and Levites

Topics

Beneficence: The Old Man of Gibeah Gibeah: of Saul: The People's Wickedness Hospitality: Man of Gibeah to the Levite